Legalisation of casinos to be studied by various agencies

The Finance Ministry has been appointed by the Cabinet as the lead agency in considering the report prepared by an ad hoc House committee on the feasibility of opening entertainment complexes with casinos in Thailand, a news source says.

The source was quoting an urgent letter issued by the Secretariat of the Cabinet on Monday. The letter stipulates that the ministry will work with 16 agencies to consider the report and submit its recommendations to the Cabinet in 30 days.

The Ministries of Tourism and Sports, Social Development and Human Security, Higher Education Science Research and Innovation, Agriculture and Cooperatives, Transport, Interior, Justice, Labour, Culture, Education, Public Health and Industry will collaborate with the Office of the Council of State, the National Economic and Social Development Council, the National Office of Buddhism and the Royal Thai Police on the matter.

A Cabinet meeting on April 9 approved the report of the House committee, which details the pros and cons of opening entertainment complexes in Thailand.

The proposed complexes would feature casinos, hotels, shopping malls, concert halls and amusement parks, and would each require at least 100 billion baht (Us$2.7bil) in investment.

Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, who chairs the House committee, said earlier that the complexes would create jobs, boost tourism, and curb illegal gambling. He expected the complexes to generate 40 to 50 billion baht in revenue annually.

After the plan is approved, a policy-level committee will be established to supervise the project, to be chaired by the prime minister, he said.